How to Crack CA Final in the First Attempt – Subject Wise Approach

  • CA|Exam|
  • 6 Min Read
  • By Taxmann
  • |
  • Last Updated on 23 December, 2023

CA final first attempt

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. CA Final Syllabus

3. Steps to be followed

4. Subject-wise Planning

5. Conclusion

1. Introduction

Cracking CA Final Examination in the first attempt is the most crucial milestone to be achieved by a CA student in his/ her journey towards a professional career as it is the last stage of CA curriculum. Final Course covers inculcation of advanced application knowledge of core and allied subjects to accountancy profession.

Remaining determined throughout the long period of study along with managing the practical training demands a great deal of planning and effective time management skills; thus making regularity in studies an essential ingredient. Accordingly, the course and its requirements must be understood thoroughly by the candidates.

The subjects of Final Course are classified into two groups (4 papers in each group) which a student can study and appear in the examination group-wise or both the groups together, exams of which are held twice a year in the month of May and November. One out of eight papers is an elective paper for enabling students to acquire specialization in a particular field.

A detailed syllabus analysis in order to aid effective planning is presented below:

2. CA Final Syllabus

Paper Subject Knowledge

(%)

Analysis and Application

(%)

Evaluation and Synthesis

(%)

Exam Duration

(In Hours)

Group-I
1. Financial Reporting 5 – 15 55 – 85 15 – 25 3
2. Strategic Financial Management 10 – 20 20 – 40 50 – 60 3
3. Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics 15 – 25 40 – 70 20 – 30 3
4. Corporate and Economic Laws

Part I: Corporate Laws

Part II: Economic Laws

 

 

25 – 30

30 – 50

 

 

40 – 55

50 – 70

 

 

30 – 35

3
Group-II
5. Strategic Cost Management & Performance Evaluation 10 – 15

 

45 – 55

 

35 – 40

 

3
6. Elective Paper 4
7. Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation 5 – 10

40 – 50

55 – 75

50 – 60

20 – 35

 

3
8. Indirect Tax Laws

Part I: Goods and Service Tax

Part II: Customs and FTP

 

10 – 30

 

20 – 40

 

40 – 70

 

40 – 70

 

20 – 30

 

10 – 20

3

Notes:

    • Passing Criteria – 40% Individual Subjects/ 50% Aggregate.
    • Audit/ Law/ Direct Tax/ Indirect Tax: 30% MCQ/ Remaining 70% Subjective.
    • Recommended Approach – Both Groups together to be appeared in examination as set off of marks is possible.

For instance, Group 1 – 240 marks – Individually Pass
Group 2 – 180 marks – Individually Fail
Total – 420 marks – Both together Pass

3. Steps to be followed

a) Gather all resources – ICAI material, RTP, MTP, CRACKER or Past year papers.

b) Strategy for first time study should be 100% coverage of all the topics and from all the resources (for e.g., ICAI module, RTP, MTP, etc.), one should never go for selective study or postpone things.

c) Make a realistic plan – short-term plan including one practical and one theory subject daily.
One should plan his/ her daily routine (Hour Basis) and also keep a check on whether targets are being achieved.

d) Understand the concepts in depth.

e) With theory subjects make a habit of reading multiple times to have clear understanding of concepts along with memorising the text/ keywords.

f) Make notes for each subject individually which shall include – Tricks to remember

g) Review/ Revise whatever has been studied every night.

h) Always prepare one book for each subject for revision.

i) Always highlight the difficult areas while studying.

j) One must attempt at least one mock test paper series thoroughly, by creating exam type environment, within the stipulated time frame.

4. Subject-wise Planning

  1. Financial Reporting (FR)
    • FR is a practical subject and one of the most scoring subjects.
    • Best study material – ICAI Module, RTP, MTP, Past Year Papers.
    • One must group the Ind AS i.e., there are groups of Ind AS for which all basic concepts viz – exclusions, time of recognition, etc. remain the same. One should refer the index given in the ICAI Modules for the aforesaid.
    • The key to study practical chapters viz – Consolidated Financial Statement, Share-Based Payment or Financial Instrument is written practise after understanding the concepts.
  1. Strategic Financial Management (SFM)
    • SFM is a practical subject and one of the most scoring subjects.
    • Best study material – ICAI Module, RTP, MTP, Past Year Papers.
    • One must always understand the concepts first and then practise as many sums as possible in writing and not orally.
    • One must mark the specific sums in the book itself, so that the same would be helpful at the time of revision.
    • Special attention must be given to the Chapter – Forex and Derivatives.
    • Mistakes committed while practising for the first time must be noted to keep a track of improvement.
  1. Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics
    • ICAI Module is the best study material.
    • Always focus on the keywords and try to remember them instead of memorising the whole text which is practically not possible.
    • Although revision is the key in this paper but writing practise would serve a long way in improving the presentation skills along with time management in the exam.
    • At the final level, ICAI expects the aspirants to quote Section number or SA number and name wherever applicable. So, one must make a habit of making them a part of their notes.
    • All the practical aspects covered during articleship, form part of the theoretical portion in this paper which cover 20% of the syllabus.
    • Professional Ethics and Company Law are among the important chapters of the syllabus. Thus, one must prepare them in entirety instead of just going through the question and answers.
    • One must refer the guidance notes and statements with every amendment issued by ICAI in auditing standards and attach it along with the final revision book.
  1. Corporate and Economic Laws
    • ICAI Module is the best study material and sufficient enough.
    • This paper is divided into two portions– Corporate Laws and Economic Laws.

The first one carrying 70% and the second one carrying 30% weightage.

    • This being a theoretical paper, proper notes would help in quick revision.
    • Clarity of provisions along with the respective exception if any would help one solve the case study/ question in the examination.
    • Remaining general points would be same as applicable in Paper – 3 Auditing.
  1. Strategic Cost Management & Performance Evaluation
    • This paper is divided into two partsand equal weightage of around 40% is allotted to each of them and the remaining 20% weightage is given to case study, covering the content of this paper.
    • Module is the best study material for this paper.
    • One must take the third Module given by ICAI seriously and take full advantage of the same as it comprises of the long elaborative case studies which prove to be quite helpful in solving the first compulsory question in the exam.
    • One must first understand the theory and clarify the practical applications and then just a few practise questions would serve the purpose.

It makes no sense in solving huge number of questions for chapters like standard and marginal costing.

  1. Elective Paper
    • It is an open book examination.
    • One can choose a subject of his/ her choice out of six options given by ICAI.
    • The key to this paper is thorough reading of the text so that one can remember the placement of the text. Thus, best study material is the ICAI Module for any of the respective subject selected by the candidate.
    • One must also carry any other material if he/ she feels the same to be even of slightest importance along with to the examination centre.
    • One must refer the case studies asked by ICAI in the previous attempts along with the case laws hosted on its website. Quoting the said case laws in various answers depending upon the applicability, would help improvise the quality of answers.
  1. Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation
    • This paper is divided into two parts – Direct Tax Laws (70% weightage) and International Taxation (30% weightage).
    • Personal notes made during first reading from any source would be the best reference for this paper.
    • One must understand the provisions and their applicability and then try to remember the same by practising questions or through case laws.
    • One can gain a grip on the provisions and also presentation of answers by practising as many questions as possible.
    • Quoting the correct section is of utmost importance and the same can be memorised only by revision of the provision along with the section numbers.
    • Solving MCQs asked in the previous attempts besides the Case Study Booklet issued by ICAI, would help one practice extra questions and structure his/her studies accordingly in order to fetch good marks.
  1. Indirect Tax Laws
    • This paper is divided into two parts – GST (75% weightage) and Customs and FTP(25% weightage).
    • Practical experience gained during articleship is the best knowledge gathered for GST, which makes preparation of this part of the paper much easier.
    • Strategy for this paper is the same as mentioned in Direct Tax Paper i.e., personal notes are the best reference material and enough practise by understanding the provisions is the key to this paper.
    • Separate notes for various timelines and different rates of interest are very important to avoid last moment confusion.
    • In GST, clarity of the set off provisions related to Input Tax Credit (ITC) is very crucial.
    • Refund, Duty Drawback chapters under both GST and Customs are very important to be understood conceptually.

5. Conclusion:

Accordingly, all the aforesaid guidelines would serve a CA student in a great way to prepare for the CA Final exams, and help him plan and utilize the time duration available with him/ her for such preparation effectively towards a successful career.

Disclaimer: The content/information published on the website is only for general information of the user and shall not be construed as legal advice. While the Taxmann has exercised reasonable efforts to ensure the veracity of information/content published, Taxmann shall be under no liability in any manner whatsoever for incorrect information, if any.

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